Why is Healthcare ALWAYS Last in the Race to Innovation?

Why is Healthcare ALWAYS Last in the Race to Innovation? Dr. Gautam Gulati tries to find those signals to noise in his inspiring speech at TEDxMidAtlantic 2012 in Washington D.C.

When industries such as education, music, and the publishing industry become problematic or stale the markets will tend to correct themselves. Why is this not the case in healthcare and what is holding the healthcare industry back from innovation? In the video shown below at the recent TEDxMidAtlantic 2012, Dr. Gulati, Chief Medical Officer and Head of Product Innovation for Physicians Interactive Holdings discusses his journey in trying to find the answers to these questions.

He soon discovered the following two key points:

Finding good ideas is NOT the problem

Advancing our science is NOT the problem

Dr. Gulati explains that the issues in healthcare run more deeper than this and we will never solve our problem with innovation by throwing more ideas and upping the volume and the noise. He states his solution to healthcare innovation saying:

“We need to change the conventional models of thinking and the fundamental principles in how we innovate in healthcare. “

In this video shown below, Dr. Gulati examines the following:

1. Cadence of Change

We must learn to flex and adapt to successfully construct new models of healthcare that celebrate and reward change.

2. Cultivate Health Artists

We must invest and cultivate change agents known as “health artists” who see the world with a different perspective with health and wellness as their lens.

3. Diffusion of Opportunity

It is ultimately everyone’s responsibility to participate in the innovation in healthcare. We must reset the social norms in healthcare to become more health and wellness oriented.

See below to watch his inspiring speech in its entirety:

Featured image credit: http://www.innovations.cms.gov/

Dr. Gulati is a different kind of doctor. One that is not yet defined. Although trained to treat patients, he has been combining his diverse experiences, creative juices, and passionate voice to help take on a bigger challenge…to treat our troubled health system.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)